Two Georgia Perimeter College employees are guiding a segment of the University System of Georgia’s Complete College Georgia efforts. Elizabeth Thornton, a GPC English professor, and Dr. Matthew Robison, Clarkston Campus dean of students, are leading the state’s regional meetings and conference for "15 to Finish" Feb. 21 through March 21.

The meetings, which are open to USG faculty, advisors and administrators, are being held at Georgia Southwestern State University, Middle Georgia State College, University of North Georgia and Georgia State University.

Designed to encourage graduation in four years, “15 to Finish” promotes a 15-credit per semester academic load for students. It is a component of Complete College Georgia designed to retain, promote and graduate students.

Over the past decade, the emphasis on taking at least 15 credit hours per semester has faded, says Thornton. Many students take only 12 credits, the required amount to receive federal financial aid. “We want to change the norm,” she says.

Helping students identify their majors early on is one of the objectives of the program, says Robison. Many times, students take a collection of courses that don’t apply to a specific major, Robison says. “They often exhaust their financial aid and then incur serious debt in student loans—and to top it off, don’t graduate.”

Program of study “maps,” earlier academic advising and the statewide Degree Works software course-tracking program are all components of “15 to Finish.”

Both Robison and Thornton note that not all components of “15 to Finish” will work for the part-time students who make up a large portion of the student body at GPC and other commuter-heavy institutions.